Bone cement containing bone marrow

Abstract

A bone cement configured to be introduced to a target bone location and allowed to cure includes at least a monomer, and an amount of bone marrow. The resulting cured bone cement includes at least one desired mechanical property that can be tailored to match a like mechanical property of the target bone. The mechanical property can be a material stiffness (Young's modulus) or yield strength.

1 . A cement configured to be introduced to a target location and allowed to cure, the cement comprising:
 a monomer;   a polymerization initiator; and   a quantity of bone marrow in sufficient amount such that the cement has a mechanical property that substantially matches a like mechanical property of the target location.   
     
     
         2 . The cement of  claim 1 , further comprising styrene to build into a polymer backbone. 
     
     
         3 . The cement of  claim 1 , having a yield strength between approximately 5 MPa and approximately 60 MPa when the bone cement is cured. 
     
     
         4 . The cement of  claim 3 , wherein the yield strength is between approximately 20 MPa and approximately 50 MPa when the bone cement is cured. 
     
     
         5 . The cement of  claim 1 , having a Young's modulus of between 100 MPa and 1000 MPa when the bone cement is cured. 
     
     
         6 . The cement of  claim 5 , wherein the Young's modulus is between approximately 200 MPa and approximately 500 MPa when the bone cement is cured. 
     
     
         7 . The cement of  claim 1 , wherein the bone marrow comprises between 10-60% of the cement by volume. 
     
     
         8 . The cement of  claim 1 , wherein the substantially matched mechanical property is a Young's modulus. 
     
     
         9 . The cement of  claim 1 , wherein the substantially matched mechanical property is a yield strength. 
     
     
         10 . A bone cement configured to be introduced into a target bone and allowed to cure, the bone cement comprising:
 a quantity of methyl-methacrylate monomer;   a polymerization initiator configured to polymerize the monomer; and   bone marrow in an amount sufficient to provide a mechanical property of the bone cement that substantially matches a like mechanical property of the target bone.   
     
     
         11 . The bone cement of  claim 10 , further comprising an activator that includes N, N-dimethyl-p-toluidine. 
     
     
         12 . The bone cement of  claim 11 , further comprising a stabiliser that includes hydroquinone. 
     
     
         13 . The bone cement of  claim 10 , wherein the polymerization initiator comprises benzoyl peroxide. 
     
     
         14 . A bone cement configured to be introduced into a target bone and allowed to cure, the bone cement comprising:
 a solid particulate component; and   bone marrow in an amount sufficient to provide a mechanical property of the bone cement that substantially matches a like mechanical property of the target bone.   
     
     
         15 . The bone cement of  claim 14 , wherein the solid particulate component includes poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) powder. 
     
     
         16 . The bone cement of  claim 15 , wherein the solid particulate component includes hydroxyapatite. 
     
     
         17 . The bone cement of  claim 14 , further including a radiopaque agent. 
     
     
         18 . The bone cement of  claim 17 , wherein the radiopaque agent is barium sulphate. 
     
     
         19 . The bone cement of  claim 14 , further comprising a quantity of a monomer, and a polymerization initiator configured to polymerize the monomer. 
     
     
         20 . The bone cement of  claim 15 , wherein the monomer comprises methyl-methacrylate. 
     
     
         21 . A bone cement configured to be introduced to a target location and allowed to cure, the cement comprising:
 a polymer; and   a quantity of bone marrow in sufficient amount such that the cement has a mechanical property that matches a like mechanical property of the target location.   
     
     
         22 . A method of fabricating a bone cement having a mechanical property, comprising:
 determining a mechanical property of a target bone to which the mechanical property of the bone cement is to be substantially matched;   mixing a monomer with a polymerization initiator; and   adding a quantity of bone marrow to the mixture in sufficient amount so as to match the mechanical property of the bone cement with the mechanical property of the bone.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the adding step further comprises creating the bone cement having a yield strength between approximately 5 MPa and approximately 60 MPa when the bone cement is cured. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the adding step further comprises creating the bone cement having a yield strength between approximately 20 MPa and approximately 50 MPa when the bone cement is cured. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the adding step further comprises creating the bone cement having a Young's modulus between approximately 100 MPa and approximately 1000 MPa. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the adding step further comprises creating the bone cement having a Young's modulus between approximately 200 MPa and approximately 500 MPa.